As he works his way to the central area near Falling Leaf and Broken Tusk, Swift Spear takes stock of his defeated prey, and reloads his spear gun.

With a snarl of frustration, Tusk barrels forward, battering one of the hard meat aside and leaping over Swift Spear. He jumps feet first down the hole after the other hard meat.

Tough Nut slumps agonisingly to the ground, fighting to regain his composure; the acid blood of the hard meat will leave him horrifically scarred.

The hard meat that she's so far failed to kill hisses in mocking challenge to Falling Leaf. Unable to help herself, she charges after it -- and directly into a trap. Waiting on either side of the choke point, two more of its kind leap on her from either side. One of them wraps its strong spindly arms around her while the other rams its head into he chest as though she were a barri it's trying to break through.

The bug in Thunder Strike's grip struggles wildly, its tail coming dangerously close until he slashes out with his wrist blades, severing the limb amidst a spray of acid yellow blood that splashes across the trunk of a tree. It screams in page and rage, which only prompts him to hack off one of its arms.

Step drops down out of the tree, slashing with her own blade, but she only does minimal damage as the bug dodges most of the blow. It turns and hisses savagely, revealing a pair of tusks jutting from its jaw unlike any sort fo hard meat you've ever seen

Broken tusk lands in a crouch. A tunnel into what may well be an even larger cave complex stretches out before him. And coming down that passage way is the sound of a great deal of hard meat beginning to stir in response to the echoing warning delivered by the meat he was following.

Tusk rises up to his full height - he throws his head back and roars as long and as loud as he can. As the sound echoes off the cave walls, he assumes his familiar fighting stance, almost salivating at the chance for glory coming this way.

The volume of noise coming from Falling Leaf and her foes is demonstrative of "prey for everybody", so Three-Eye engages his ambush, moving like a dark avalanche behind Falling Leaf and around the mess she's in.

Based on how it appears the Hard Meat used their ambushes (mechanically speaking), it looks like it gives me an extra half action. I'll come off delay at the top of the initiative count and engage it (or at the bottom of last round, which is essentially the same thing).

Three-Eye will double move for a total of 80' of movement. That should allow me to move around the top of the pillar to Falling Leaf's east, between the pillar and the "+90 ft. " notation, to come around behind the Hard Meat and get the flank.

Assuming I used my ambush half action to start that move, I've still got a half action to attack with using my reach-y glaive.

Seeing an opportunity for a second kill, Swift Spear crosses the stream, using the stones as a bridge as he brings his spear gun up. He then fires between the stone wall and the pillar at the Hard Meat which ambushed Falling Leaf, but the projectile flies harmlessly past and embeds itself in the rock.

Tough Nut pants as his head clears. Getting to his feet, he steps gingerly around the desolving rock, grasps the head of the slain hard meat and cuts it free to claim his prize.

The hard meat holding Falling Leaf from behind tightens its grip, momentarily immobilising her, but she finds to strength to wrench herself partially free. The sudden movement throws off the aim of the one attacking her from the front, and the head butt meant for her strikes the one behind her instead, but seems to have no effect.

The volume of noise coming from Falling Leaf and her foes is demonstrative of "prey for everybody", so Three-Eye engages his ambush, moving like a dark avalanche behind Falling Leaf and around the mess she's in. However, the meat that had lured Leaf into the ambush emerges from the dark and slashes the young warrior with its claws, drawing luminous green blood.

The bug in Thunder Strike's grip continues to fightdespite its injuries, but the result is inevitable as he slams the creature hard against the tree to stun it before lopping off its head. Some of its blood splashes across his arm in posthumous vengence.

Step ducks and weaves, jabbing at the throat and armpits of the strange breed of hard meat that confronts her. The first few blows are ineffective but at least serve to defeat its attempt to grab and immobilise her, then she rakes it violently across the abdomen, cutting through its vitals

Broken tusk rises up to his full height - he throws his head back and roars as long and as loud as he can. As the sound echoes off the cave walls, he assumes his familiar fighting stance, almost salivating at the chance for glory coming this way.

I can't flank into Leaf's fight, largely because she's a stupid bitch and decided to grapple the one I could have helped with (while inaccurate, that's Three-Eye's story and he's sticking to it). So I'll deal with my own guy, sans flanking. I will take a 5' step back so I can be at reach with the Glaive, and attack the one who ambushed me (#4, it would seem). Glaive attack 1 1d20+11=19For 1d10+5=11 damage, AP 2, keen 16.

From here I'm scripting two options:

Option A: The first attack kills the bug I'm fighting.

Action: I will take a half action to draw a Kama and, using Contempt, hurl it at the bug that's not involved in grappling Leaf.

Step jabs and feints, weaving in and out of the thing's range as she looks for an opening. Her first serious attempt is easily turned aside, but the second is driven home, right through the hard meat's forehead.

Swift Spear recocks his spear thrower and hurls it at one of the beasts attacking his pack mate. The shaft passes cleanly through the hard meat's shoulder, summoning a screaching his of outrage as he darts around the pillar towards the thick of the action.

Tough Nut roars in triumph and thrusts the severed head own onto his spear.

The hard meat holding Falling Leaf suffers another head butt, this time from its prey and its enough to force it to release her. With her arms free, she aims two desperate slashes with her wrist blades at the one that had been attacking her from the front but in her worn state the attacks fall short and leave her open to a brutal counter attack that culminates with the hard meat slashing her belly open with its tail as it drives its tounge through her mask and deep into her brain, killing her instantly.

Three-Eye steps hurredly backwards, avoiding the recoiling meat that had been engaged with his fallen pack mate and stabs savagely forward. Though he lands a killing blow that slices its head from its body, it is poorly chosen and a gush of acid arcs through the dark and strikes his mask, burning out the optical sensors as it begins to eat through the metal towards his face.

Manfully ignoring the sting from his splash injury, Thunderstrike immediately leaps into the canopy overhead in an attempt to track the other hunter. He is already too late, however, as his foe aims a slash at his groin. The armour is enough to deflect the worst of it, but the impact is enough to knock him backwards out of the tree where he lands heavily on the ground. But it is not total defeat, for in his hand he holds his opponent's plasma caster.

The remaining bug once again attempts to wrap itself around the young yutja fighting it in order to burn her to death with its own injury, but Step proves too fast: a scything blow rips open the top of the beats skull, and she dances away as the plume of acid harmlessly detroys the greenery.

Broken tusk readies himself as the first wave of the hard meat erupts from the depths and swarms him. With contemptuous ease he slays the first of them to fall within his reach, but already he can glimpse even more following the first five.

There's no way out, and Three-Eye realizes he's broken his first and greatest rule, to catastrophic consequences. But he won't dishonor his ancestors by turning his back on prey. He keeps swinging for the fences.

Laughing with the thrill of exhileration, Tusk slashes left and right. As one of the hard meat falls to his blade, he roars in exhultation, continuing to attack. As the creatures press the attack, he nimbly leaps backwards and bounds up out of the hole he jumped down. He shouts "Does anyone still have need of a kill? I come bearing gifts!" He pirouettes on the ball of one foot, dreds flicking out behind him as he turns to meet the tidal surge of bodies.

Half Action: Move; backward, away from the hard meat and up out of the hole. I can do this thanks to Wire-Fu, and FC p204 indicates that as long as the first 10 ft. of movement does not leave me adjacent to an opponent then I can take a standard move action. Right?

Yeah, right - as if i'm gonna survive long enough to do any of this...

Logged

VAO Control; Crafty Freelancer; Freethinker

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."